Jonathan Long

Research Description: The long-term goal of the Long Laboratory is to discover new metabolite signaling pathways and to identify the enzymes, transporters, and receptors that regulate their signaling in mammalian metabolism and physiology. To accomplish these goals, we use a unique and multidisciplinary approach that combines synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, mass spectrometry, and genetics to uncover new metabolite signaling pathways directly in complex organismal settings. In recent years, we have mapped entire branches of previously unknown bioactive metabolites and identified their functions in mammalian physiology, including a circulating PM20D1/N-acyl amino acid pathway in blood that regulates energy metabolism. We hope to translate these discoveries into pharmacologically tractable opportunities (e.g., enzyme inhibitors, transporter antagonists, or receptor modulators) for therapeutic intervention in obesity or associated metabolic disorders including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.